Chapter # 10 Paragraph # 1 Study # 4
June 3, 2018
Humble, Texas
(Download Audio)

• I. Paul's Declaration That Christ is the "End" of "Law" For Believers.
  • A. The "Issue": "righteousness".
    • 1. In Paul's sentence, "in view of righteousness" is the point.
      • a. Earlier in the text, Paul made the point that "righteousness" was obtained by the Gentiles who did not pursue it and that "righteousness" was not obtained by the Jews who did pursue it.
      • b. Critical to this "obtain/did not obtain" is the most basic "end" or "goal" of "obtaining".
        • 1) When all is said and done, the issue before men will be whether, or not, they shall be allowed to participate in the kingdom of The Lord and of His Christ so that they shall experience the exulting joy of such permission.
        • 2) And, at the heart of this permission is one reality: exulting joy.
        • 3) And, at the heart of this reality is one question: can exulting joy exist without the powerful sense of personal accomplishment that rests at the root of all of man's considerations of methods for life?
          • a) In all of the considerations of fallen man's thought, "self-esteem" is rooted in both the idea of a joy that springs from a well-adjusted sense of self and in the idea that such a well-adjusted sense of self is the critical "spring".
            • i. The world of fallen men is thoroughly permeated with the notion that joy arises from "the pride of life".
            • ii. And, even from the voices of men claiming to have been delivered from God's condemnation, there comes a potent rejection of what they call "worm theology".
          • b) Alternatively, the Word of God declares that it is not "self" esteem that issues forth in exulting joy, but, rather, "God" esteem.
            • i. It is the glory of God that pours the joy of life out upon any who possess it; it is not the glory of man that does this.
            • ii. It is the "glory" of man that makes the impact of the glory of God to be exulting joy in that the less a man thinks of himself as he thinks the more of God's glory in terms of His love and grace toward him, the greater the joy.
          • c) The end of this contrast between man's methodology and God's is this: man does not have to have any basis in himself to think of himself as "capable" in order to have God's "joy of Life".
    • 2. It is because of the reality that God accepts no man who does not possess the critical qualification for acceptance that Paul's focus is "in view of righteousness".
  • B. Christ as "End".
    • 1. The word is anarthrous (not preceded by the definite article "the") so that we are compelled to understand that "End" is critical.
    • 2. As "End" we must understand that Christ is being presented as a "methodology".
      • a. "Ends" are always presented as "goals" in Scripture.
      • b. "Goals" are inevitably "achieved/not achieved" because of the application of certain processes as "means to the end".
        • 1) This is the reason for the "theological" question: What is the chief end of man?
        • 2) The answer to this question is all-determining in that it draws specific lines around one's understanding of the nature of the actual "glory" of both man and God.
      • c. Since the issue of the context is man's "obtaining/not obtaining" an acceptance by God into the Joy of His Life, we must, therefore, see Paul's presentation as "Christ" as the "End" of the methodological realities.
  • C. Christ is "End" in view of those for whom He is "End".
    • 1. Paul uses the word "believe".
      • a. This word is always used in respect to the relational universe and its most fundamental requirement that "relationship" begins and ends with whether, or not, there is "trust" between those in the relationship.
      • b. His use of the word involves the "tense" of the verbal concept: existing in the present.
    • 2. Paul recognizes that there is such a thing as a prior "believing" that died on the vine because of the stresses between men and men and men and God over what experiences are allowed into the relationship(s).
      • a. In the most succinct statement of "his" Gospel in his writings (1 Corinthians 15:1-11) there is a deliberate "if clause" immediately at the beginning that reveals Paul's awareness.
      • b. This "if clause" exists because of the reality that exists: relationships cannot exist in the face of a non-existent "trust".
    • 3. It can be argued that the vast majority of Paul's writings in the New Testament were inspired by this fact.
    • 4. If Christ is not "End", there is no escape from the disastrous bondage to "Law" and all of its critical demand/perform issues.
  • D. Christ is "End" also in view of the anarthrous use of "Law".
    • 1. When "Law" is preceded by "the", the references are almost always "the Law which came by Moses".
    • 2. When "Law" is absent that preceding article, the issue is "methodology".
      • a. The methodology of "faith" is that God makes promises which men depend upon as they go about their activities.
      • b. The methodology of "Law" is that God makes demands which He expects men to obey in order to receive His blessings.
    • 3. Christ as "End" means that "obedience" must be kept in its cage, not allowed to run rampant in the mind and/or heart.
      • a. The word typically translated "obey" is actually a word that was coined to express the reality of "having been convinced".
      • b. Genuine "conviction" automatically alters both choices and actions so that a person faces his/her circumstances with those choices and actions already determined.
      • c. Thus, the "believer" recognizes that he/she faces his/her circumstances on the basis of Christ's promises and not His demands.